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Academic Commentary and Expertise

At Durham, we conduct world-leading research on a broad range of topics, from enhancing global knowledge to developing global citizenship. 

Discover our academic experts from across the University who would be happy to talk about their areas of expertise or about their latest research. 

 

Government and International Affairs

Name Department Email and contact number Areas of expertise
Professor Gidon Cohen School of Government and International Affairs

gidon.cohen@durham.ac.uk

+44 (0)191 334 5217 / +44 (0)7515 121167

  • History of the Labour Party
  • Voting trends
  • Political activism
  • The politicisation of public opinion on climate and environment policy in Britain
  • Party membership and organisation
  • British political history
Professor Nick Vivyan School of Government and International Affairs

nick.vivyan@durham.ac.uk

+44 (0)191 334 5881

  • British politics
  • Public opinion and elections
  • Quantitative methods
  • Legislative politics
  • Political economy
Dr David Andersen School of Government and International Affairs

david.j.andersen@durham.ac.uk

+44 (0)191 334 2416 / +44 (0)7506 419647

  • American politics
  • Campaigns and elections
  • Experimental methods
  • Political psychology
  • Quantitative methods
  • Effects of scandals
  • Taking issue positions that diverge from traditional party stances
  • The ways in which higher office campaigns (i.e. the presidency) can affect how voters approach lower-office campaigns (i.e. congressional campaigns)
Professor Patrick Kuhn School of Government and International Affairs

p.m.kuhn@durham.ac.uk

+44 (0)191 334 7204

  • Electoral integrity and violence, both from a historical and comparative perspective
  • Swiss Politics and instruments of direct democracy (initiatives and referenda)
Dr Tessa Ditonto School of Government and International Affairs tessa.m.ditonto@durham.ac.uk 
  • Gender and politics
  • Gender in the UK
  • Political behaviour
  • Political psychology
  • Quantitative methods
  • Women and politics
  • How female sterotypes and prejudice can influence political behaviour

 

Law

Name Department Email and contact number Areas of expertise
Professor Thom Brooks Durham Law School

thom.brooks@durham.ac.uk

+44 (0)191 334 4365

  • British politics
  • Labour Party
  • English devolution
  • Citizenship
  • Criminal justice
  • Immigration
  • Restorative justice
  • Punishment and sentencing
Professor Clare McGlynn Durham Law School

clare.mcglynn@durham.ac.uk

+44 (0)191 334 2837 / +44 (0)7747 008061

  • Rape law and policy
  • Violence against Women
  • Restorative Justice and Sexual Violence
  • Legal Regulation of Pornography
  • Online abuse including deepfake porn, cyberflashing, intimate image abuse
  • Sexual offending including indecent exposure and policing of rape
  • Pornography regulation including extreme pornography and deepfake porn
Dr Andy Hayward Durham Law School

a.p.hayward@durham.ac.uk

+44 (0)7870 619608

  • Family law
  • The rights of unmarried couples

 

Economy

Name Department Email and contact number Areas of expertise
Professor Tatiana Damajanovic Durham Business School

tatiana.damjanovic@durham.ac.uk

  • Inflation and growth
  • Macroeconomics
  • Monetary policy
  • Economics of banking
  • Public economics 
  • Fiscal policy

 

Education

Name Department Email and contact number Areas of expertise
Professor Stephen Gorard School of Education

s.a.c.gorard@durham.ac.uk 

+44 (0)7921 846948 (mobile) / +44 (0)121 574 2540 (landline) / +44 (0)191 334 8323 (office)

  • Education and social justice
  • Equity and effectiveness in lifelong education
  • Higher and Further Education
  • Quality of education research
  • Teacher supply and quality
  • School improvements

 

Climate, Environment and Energy

Name Department Email and contact number Areas of expertise
Professor Petra Minnerop Durham Law School

petra.minnerop@durham.ac.uk 

+44 (0)777 521 2648

  • Climate change law
  • Net zero policy, targets, plans
  • What the advisory opinion of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) means for the UK
  • International law on climate change
Dr Karen Johnson School of Engineering and Computer Science

karen.johnson@durham.ac.uk 

  • Health impact of brownfield sites
  • Regenerating brownfield sites using sustainable technology
  • Regenerative agriculture
  • Soil health and climate change mitigation (flooding and drought)
  • Soil health and human health links
  • Adaptation
Professor Jon Gluyas Department of Earth Sciences

j.g.gluyas@durham.ac.uk 

+44 (0)7951 274552 / +44 (0)191 334 2302

  • Carbon capture and storage
  • Petroleum production
  • Geothermal energy
  • Energy transition including hydrogen and helium
  • Net Zero
Professor Simone Abram Executive Director of Durham Energy Institute

simone.abram@durham.ac.uk 

+44 (0)774 760 8994

  • Inclusive energy transitions
  • Energy futures - contested assumptions and visions of the future
  • Energy and planning
  • Energy debates and controversies in Norway
  • UK-Scandinavia policy comparisons 
  • Integrated energy services
  • Housing regeneration
  • Social anthropology in the UK
Professor Chris Stokes Department of Geography

c.r.stokes@durham.ac.uk

+44 (0)191 334 1955

  • Importance of keeping global temperature rises to an average of 1.5 degrees or lower
  • Glacier monitoring
  • Glaciers and climate change
  • Sea level rise
  • Arctic and Antarctica

 

International Relations

Name Department Email and contact number Areas of expertise
Professor Anoush Ehteshami School of Government and International Affairs

a.ehteshami@durham.ac.uk 

+44 (0)191 334 5662 / +44 (0)7834 147771

  • National security
  • International relations of the Middle East
  • Ukraine/Russia conflict
  • China’s relations with Europe, MENA and the USA

 

 

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